Proposed AZ law would let women be fired for using the pill

A proposed new law in Arizona would give employers the power to require women being prescribed birth control pills provide proof that they’re using it for non-sexual reasons. Imagine getting fired for using birth control pills.

The Senate Judiciary Committee voted 6-2 Monday to endorse a controversial bill that would allow Arizona employers the right to deny health insurance coverage for contraceptives based on religious objections.

Arizona House Bill 2625, authored by Majority Whip Debbie Lesko, R-Glendale, would permit employers to ask their employees for proof of medical prescription if they seek contraceptives for non-reproductive purposes, such as hormone control or acne treatment.

… “My whole legislation is about our First Amendment rights and freedom of religion,” Lesko said. “All my bill does is that an employer can opt out of the mandate if they have any religious objections.

And because Arizona’s an at-will employment state, Jezebel.com points out, that means that bosses critical of their female employees’ sex lives could fire them as a result.

It’s all about freedom, (Lasko) said, echoing everyone who thinks there’s nothing ironic about claiming that a country that’s “free” allows people’s bosses to dictate what medical care is available to them through insurance. First amendment. The constitution. Rights of religious people to practice the treasured tenets of their faiths, the tenets that dictate that religious people get to tell everyone who is not of faith how they’re supposed to live, and the freedom to have that faith enforced by law. Freedom®.

The funniest part of this incredible story is that lawmaker Lesko says the bill is necessary because “we live in America; we don’t live in the Soviet Union.”